Rookie
Hiro the Wolf, better known by his nickname Rookie, is a Mobian wolf who was too cowardly to live up to his dreams to be a hero, preferring to be on look-out duty than fight. The Rookie took part in the war against the Eggman Empire after it began gaining ground. After months of service in the field, the Rookie joined the Resistance as the group's newest recruit. Although initially lacking in courage, his burgeoning sense of heroism allowed him to rise to prominence among heroes like Sonic the Hedgehog, and, in the final days of the war, be a crucial element in helping the Resistance reclaim the world from Dr. Eggman’s domination. Appearance The Rookie is a Mobian wolf with red fur and peach skin for his muzzle and the inner portion of his ears. He has four small tufts of fur protruding from both sides at the back of his head, a short bushy tail, pointed ears that curve upwards, orange eyes and pointed fangs. For attire, he wears thick-rimmed black glasses, a military green dome-shaped headset with a black rim and a small black circular-shaped microphone attached to right side of his head. He also wears a three-pouched tan utility belt around his waist, supported by a strap with a black buckle over the abdomen. On his hands, he wears military green gloves with medium-sized cuffs, a black inverted chevron on the front and tan patches on the back. His boots are military green with black tips and tan padded patches on the back. Much like his gloves, the boots are adorned with a black inverted chevron on the front. History Past The Rookie started out as an ordinary citizen of a suburban Mobian town. Throughout his life, he would hear stories about the adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends, whom the Rookie wanted to be like despite his own cowardice. Sonic Forces The Eggman Empire began gaining dominance across the world after Dr. Eggman seemingly killed Sonic the Hedgehog. At some point during the next six months of war between the Eggman Empire and the Resistance, the Rookie began working for the Resistance. Being too afraid to fight on the front lines, the Rookie took up look-out duty in the city. When the Chaotix arrived, the Rookie observed their organization of the city's defenses for the next few days. When the Rookie considered quitting the fight however, he had to alert the city to an attack from Dr. Eggman and his legion of Egg Pawns. With the Chaotix needing aid with the defenses, the Rookie rushed in, hoping to be of use. However, he could not do any good. When the Egg Pawns then broke through the defenses, the Rookie hid, too afraid to fight. When the Chaotix needed to take down the Egg Pawns' battleship however, the Rookie, seeing a way to help without fighting, grabbed a bomb and fired it, hitting the battleship so that it had to retreat. After that, the Rookie was congratulated for their efforts by the Chaotix. From then on, the Rookie promised to do more and become a real hero. Later on, the Rookie and his squadron got attacked by Infinite, the commander of Eggman's army, who killed all his friends. The Rookie tried standing against Infinite despite his anxiety and doubt, but Infinite saw through his facade. Wanting to enjoy his fear however, Infinite allowed the frightened Rookie to live after he ran away in fear. Eventually making it to the Resistance's HQ in one piece, he joined the Resistance after a couple of months, in spite of the terrified tension among the population. After being introduced to the members, the Rookie received a Burst Wispon from Knuckles. On his first mission, the Rookie helped steal a space shuttle to reach Sonic with, who turned out to be imprisoned on the Death Egg. Onboard the Death Egg, the Rookie ended up on the best route to Sonic and managed to instigate his release. His fear nearly got the better of him though when Egg Pawns swarmed them. After Sonic saved him though, the two returned home in a shuttle. Although his cowardice during the rescue did not sit well with the Resistance, the Rookie was nonetheless send along with Sonic to destroy Eggman's weapon factory. After the attack, the Rookie was sent by Knuckles and Sally to rescue civilians from an attack from Eggman's army. Having grown more skilled, he was able to help make the enemy forces retreat, earning him praise from the Resistance. Soon after, the Rookie was sent to investigate Mystic Jungle. There, he found a Phantom Ruby prototype. He also found Tails and Classic Sonic, who were brought to the Resistance and revealed that Eggman would have a plan for wiping out the Resistance ready in three days. When Operation Big Wave began, the Rookie joined the Resistance's attack on Metropolis. However, when Infinite turned the fight around with the Phantom Ruby (the Eggman Empire's secret weapon), the Rookie scrambled to retreat. Along the way, he met Infinite, who tried intimating him. Remembering Sonic's encouraging words however, the Rookie found the courage to fight Infinite. During the fight, the Rookie's Phantom Ruby prototype gave him some protection from Infinite. Once again though, Infinite allowed the Rookie to live so he could swelter in fear before Eggmanmbegan his endgame. After that, the Rookie joined Sonic on a mission to defeat a Metal Sonic replica. After handling the replica, the Rookie and Sonic marked their victory with a fist bump. When the heroes then needed to destroy the Phantom Ruby's power source in order to weaken the weapon, the Rookie provided a distraction for Eggman's forces at Guardian Rock while the Resistance destroyed the power source. Joining then the Resistance on an attack on Eggman, during which he learned that the Phantom Ruby had another power source underneath the Eggman Empire Fortress, the Rookie tried to save Sonic when he was being pulled into Null Space, only to get pulled in with him. Together however, the two broke out and rejoined the Resistance. The Rookie and the Resistance eventually confronted the Egg Army in an attempt to break into the Eggman Empire Fortress. It was then that Eggman revealed his endgame: having Infinite drop a sun on them via the Phantom Ruby's power. As the sun fell however, Tails noticed the Rookie's Phantom Ruby prototype, and deduced that he could use it to neutralize the sun. Since the prototype's design only let the Rookie use it, he made his way to the sun and wiped it out, giving the Resistance a fighting chance. After being helped back on their feet by Tails, the Rookie joined Sonic when he fought Infinite, and together they beat him for good. Warned by Eggman that it was not over however, the duo then made their way to the Phantom Ruby's power source and destroyed it, seemingly winning the war. After rejoining their friends however, Eggman revealed that the power source was a decoy and that the real Phantom Ruby had been incorporated into his triumph card: the Egg Destroyer Battlesuit. With the Egg Army on the rise thanks to the Ruby, the Rookie, Sonic and Classic Sonic fought Eggman. Destroying the robot and the Ruby, the trio ensured the Resistance's victory over the Eggman Empire. After saying goodbye to Classic Sonic as he returned to his time and cleaning up Eggman's remaining forces, the Resistance disbanded. Believing others needed their help, the Rookie took his leave as well, with his teammates praising their growth. The Rookie later shared a goodbye with Sonic before he left. Following his example, the Rookie went in pursuit of new adventures. Personality The Rookie is a carefree and free-spirited wolf with intelligence and understanding far beyond his years. Because of this, he can be a bit brazen and cocky, but never to the point of arrogance. He is easily accepting of other people and doesn't seem to have much of a problem forming positive connections with those he comes into contact with. He also has a strong admiration for heroes. Throughout his life, he looked up to people like Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Princess Sally Acorn and Amy Rose of the Freedom Fighters, and wanted to be as heroic and cool as them. These dreams shaped the Rookie into a benevolent person whose greatest desire was to help out others. His ambitions were not very high however; during the beginning of the war with the Eggman Empire, the Rookie mainly stuck to assignments that did not have him confronting enemies head-on. As the Rookie grew from experience though, he found the confidence to try harder and become a real soldier and a real hero. Early on, the Rookie was a coward with low self-esteem. Even after joining the war against the Eggman Empire, the Rookie chose duties that kept him away from the fighting and allowed him to save himself when danger arrived, believing on the most part that he would only get in the way of the real heroes. Also, when finding himself caught in the middle of a life-or-death situation, the Rookie would get overwhelmed by anxiety and self-doubt, eventually to the point where he would give into his fear and allow his actions to be ruled by it. Probably the biggest instance of his cowardice was with his first encounter with Infinite; he primarily hid behind rubble, and, although he attempted to point his Wispon at Infinite, he whimpered in fear and quaked as he did so while also struggling to pick up the Wispon beforehand, and was then ultimately forced down by Infinite's warning shot before being forced to flee at Infinite's insistence. Aware of his own flaws, the Rookie was not proud of his own cowardice and would constantly chide himself for being a failure. Regardless of his shortcomings, the Rookie ultimately proved to possess the seeds of great heroism and courage within him; even before developing a greater sense of bravery, the Rookie was able to activate a Phantom Ruby prototype, an object of which requires a strong will for it to be activated, with his innate sense of courage and heroism. These qualities would slowly surface during the war with the Eggman Empire as the Rookie came to have his doubts about himself disproven by his own accomplishments. Eventually, due to Sonic's influence, the Rookie ultimately found the inner courage to not give in to fear. From then on, the Rookie would not show hesitation about throwing himself into danger for the sake of the Resistance's cause and his friends. His newfound courage was such that he willingly tried to save Sonic from being sucked into Null Space, despite Sonic's insistence that he ran the risk of him being sucked in as well, and later him infiltrating the Eggman Empire Fortress to use his Phantom Ruby prototype to cancel out Eggman's artificial sun. By the end of the war with the Eggman Empire, the Rookie had grown into a confident, humble, courageous and independent hero ready to make a difference on his own. In addition, thanks to his bond with Sonic, the Rookie had adopted a number of Sonic's traits, including his philosophy about keeping on moving forward no matter what. Powers and abilities The Rookie had no special abilities, such as super speed or super strength, nor did he possess any combat skills to begin with. After joining the Resistance however, the Rookie slowly developed proficient skills as a fighter. In fact, near the end of the war with the Eggman Empire, the Rookie managed to fight through an army of robots single handedly in Park Avenue. Also, both Espio and the near-omnipotent Infinite would commend on the Rookie for his growing fighting prowess on different occasions. While working for the Resistance, the Rookie developed impressive physical skills. These include the ability to run at speeds high enough to let him keep up with Sonic the Hedgehog. However, he is not as fast as Sonic, nor does he have the stamina to keep up with him for long. Besides speed, he also developed high agility, being able to dodge successive energy blasts from Infinite, and immense jumping skills that rival those of Sonic's too. He also gained proficient grappling hook skills, being able to expertly use grappling gear to latch onto targets and swing around. In fact, he is skillful enough with his grappling tool to use it to latch onto foes and pull himself in for an attack, dodge attacks, make sharp turns at high speed, and safely tie up foes as large as a Death Egg Robot sentinel. After spending time with Sonic, the Rookie learned the Spin Attack, a technique where he curls into a concussive ball or cutting disk and direct himself at his targets. With it, the Rookie can shred or burrow through just about any substance given enough speed and hit with enough force to pierce a Death Egg Robot sentinel. He has also learned Sonic's ability to envelope himself in an energy field that lets him accelerate beyond the sound barrier on both the ground and in midair for a short time. Equipment and weapons The Rookie wears a wrist-mounted grappling hook which can detach its rope at command. This gear's rope is both long and strong enough to tie up three Death Egg Robot sentinels at once. He also carries around different types of Wispon, a series of customizable gadgets that can harness the power of Wisps and channel their respective Color Powers without causing the Rookie to transform. After coming into possession of a Phantom Ruby prototype, the Rookie gains a degree of immunity from attacks by Infinite's virtual reality creations, and also gains the ability to dispel them. As a result of the Ruby's defects, only he could use it, as the prototype only recorded the DNA of the one who activated it. Allies, Rivals, and Enemies Friends/Allies * Freedom Fighters ** Sonic the Hedgehog (partner) ** Miles "Tails" Prower ** Amy Rose ** Sally Acorn ** Bunnie D. Coolette ** Antoine D. Coolette ** Rotor the Walrus ** Nicole the Holo-Lynx ** Cream the Rabbit ** Cheese the Chao ** Big the Cat * Knuckles the Echidna * Silver the Hedgehog * Chaotix ** Vector the Crocodile ** Espio the Chameleon ** Charmy the Bee * Team Dark ** Shadow the Hedgehog ** Rouge the Bat ** E-123 Omega Enemies * Eggman Empire ** Dr. Eggman ** Infinite See also * Avatar Category:Characters Category:Heroes Category:Males Category:Mobians Category:Wolves